Update - Apparently our forum anti-spam system got a little excited with the contest and blocked a LOT of submissions. We restored all of them, don't worry if you posted multiple times we will only keep one post/user anyway.

Landro's Lichling Kiss-A-Thon! Win a Landro's Lichling
It's time for a small contest! WoWTCGLoot.com was kind enough to send a couple of TCG Loot cards my way and I decided it could be a good occasion to spread the love again (Remember the christmas contest?)!

I have 8 Landro's Lichling loot codes, and all you have to do is post a screenshot in this news post!

1. Go in-game and /kiss a NPC, a player, anyone! Just make sure you screenshot it (if you suck at screenshoting the kiss animation, just leave the chat log open)

2. Upload the screenshot somewhere (imgur.com is nice) and post the link in the comments of this news post! Just the link please, we don't need thousands of images embedded in each page.

3. The contest will end on Thursday May 5th at 11:00PM PST! It should give enough time to anyone in any timezone to participate. Comments on this news post will be locked and winners will be announced shortly after.

We will have 1 or 2 more contests coming after that, since I have a few more things to give away, courtesy of WoWTCGLoot.com once again. (Yes, mounts.)

Patch 4.2 Public Test Realms Coming Soon

Originally Posted by Zarhym
(Blue Tracker)

We’re currently preparing to bring the first playable iteration of patch 4.2 to the Public Test Realms. A sizable portion of this content has been in development for some time, so let’s get it in gear! With a new raid, a legendary questline, the most diverse daily quest hub to date, major story developments, user interface enhancements, and much more, patch 4.2 is certain to have something for everyone. Check out some of the major patch features you need to know about, followed by the initial patch notes in our Patch 4.2 Public Test Realm Guide.

Reasons behind the Patch 4.2 Crowd Control change
Dungeon Finder has suffered in Cataclysm because many of the Heroics are quite difficult for uncoordinated groups. That point is almost impossible to dispute. Some of the more elite players may say, “Good! Dungeon Finder was a stupid idea.” If you don’t adhere to that argument -- and we don’t -- there are basically two choices: make the dungeons so easy that they don’t require communication, or make the communication easier. We like for dungeons to be challenging, but we don’t like when the challenges are logistical in nature. You still need to know which targets to CC, which creatures are immune to which forms of CC, make sure you don’t break the CC, etc. And that is ignoring all of the many ways to fail that aren’t related to CC (such as say most boss encounters).

Related, even with Call to Arms, tanks are often in highest demand for Dungeon Finder, and we think this is largely because tanks are expected to lead and set the pace of a dungeon run. It’s a ton of responsibility. A tank I work with said recently, “I don’t even mind doing all that, but it’s just such a pain to have to manually mark targets every single pull while the other players just wait around for me to tell them what to do.” With this change, there is less need to sit down and try to communicate about which is the sheep target and which is the trap target. And if someone CC’s the wrong thing, there is more chance for recovery. It’s the way Sap has worked for years, and you don’t generally see players calling for groups with 3 rogues just to make the trash that much easier.

We promise that the average group will still wipe in dungeons even with this change. We have plenty of data to back that up that supposition. (Source)

Patch 4.2 Dungeon Journal is not a walkthrough
You mistake this implementation as a walk-through. While you will be told the items and abilities the boss will employ, it will not tell you when, how much damage, where to stand etc. This is merely an extra in-game tool to help players get into the encounters, understand them a little better, and enjoy them. The ability to take down the boss is still soundly within player hands and abilities. (Source)

Cross-Server BOA Item Mails
Yeah, that's sort of a solution, but not a very good one. The accusation you're making (in the OP and subsequent replies) is that since we're not implementing a bad but easier solution, that we have no intention of ever implementing the correct one.

We do intend to implement the correct solution, of being able to mail BoBA items to any and all characters on the same Battle.net account. That's the right way to go about it. Whether you believe that will ever happen or not is another matter. (Source)

Bad players in dungeon finder
If you run pick up groups then it's inevitable that, in the course of playing World of Warcraft, you'll eventually run into a player who is less skilled or knowledgeable than yourself. Obviously, there are a lot of ways to deal with that situation, ranging from the cruel to the kind.

My personal approach runs toward the kind end of the spectrum, because I think that my World of Warcraft experience is improved when everyone I'm in a group with is having fun. I also believe that by volunteering information, I improve my potential future pick up groups too. It's sort of a pay-it-forward, be-the-change-you-want-to-see kind of thing... There's an added benefit in that my vote kick also gets saved for players who truly deserve it, such as those who are genuinely rude, or who are simply griefing.

The vast majority of the dungeons I've been in have run smoothly. In those situations where I can see that a player is struggling though, I take the initiative and explain the fight, including their specific role. I whisper them and let them know they can ask me questions, and I won't blow up on them. If they aren't performing to a level where beating a fight is possible, I've even let players know that we need to replace them, as well as why. I've actually had players bow out in those situations where they weren't able to perform. Most of the time, the player who was struggling was just a little confused, and steps up and makes it work. Personally, I find those runs much more fun and gratifying than a simple speed run full of over-geared players. There could be something wrong with me.

Anyway, I digress. My bottom line is that it's amazing what you can accomplish just by treating others with a little dignity. (Source)

Warlock (Forums / Talent Calculator / Skills/Talents)4.2 Crowd Control and Fear
Fear functions very differently. It's a bit wonky to allow a target to run around aimlessly under the effects of Fear and not drawing aggro from anyone. What we might do is add this CC change specifically to the Glyph of Fear. (Source)